The present invention relates to a support for small-diameter filamentary elements and to a bundle of filamentary elements interconnected by the support.
The invention applies in particular to installations comprising bundles of optical fibers or of electrical coaxial cables of small diameter.
Amongst the optical fibers commonly used in a cable telecommunications network, it is common practice to distinguish between inorganic optical fibers, generally made of silica, and optical fibers made of synthetic material.
In general, an inorganic optical fiber comprises a core of doped silica coated in intermediate inorganic optical cladding and in a peripheral organic sheath made of synthetic material. In general, the peripheral sheath is constituted by a flexible first sheath coated in a hard second sheath. An optical fiber of this type commonly has a diameter of 250 micrometers (xcexcm).
An optical fiber of synthetic material is commonly of larger diameter than an inorganic optical fiber. A common diameter for an optical fiber of synthetic material is often around 500 xcexcm, and in some cases can be as much as 1 millimeter (mm).
In the state of the art, it is known to hold a plurality of optical fibers together by means of a ribbon of photopolymerizable resin. A ribbon of this type normally enables two to sixteen optical fibers to be held together. In conventional manner, the optical fibers to be held together are coated in liquid resin, and the resin is cured by being polymerized on exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
The various optical fibers of a bundle are usually identified by means of a color code. As a result, the resin ribbon in which the optical fibers are embedded is generally transparent, so as to enable an operator to identify each optical fiber on the basis of its color.
If an operator seeks to gain access to a particular optical fiber embedded in the ribbon, the ribbon needs to be torn possibly by means of a thread provided for this purpose in the ribbon. After the operator has intervened, the tear in the ribbon must be repaired.
Furthermore, polymerization of the ribbon resin is an exothermic reaction that can give rise to harmful thermal stresses in the optical fibers embedded in the resin.
An object of the invention is to hold small-diameter filamentary elements together such as optical fibers or electrical coaxial cables using means that facilitate access to each filamentary element and, where appropriate, enable different bundles and filamentary elements to be identified.
To this end, the invention provides a support for small-diameter filamentary elements having a diameter less than or equal to 1 millimeter, in particular optical fibers and/or electrical coaxial cables, the support comprising longitudinal channels each intended to house a respective filamentary element, each channel being defined by two longitudinal walls interconnected by a web and defining a longitudinal channel opening, the width of said longitudinal opening being variable by elastically deforming the longitudinal walls between an access configuration giving access to the channel enabling a filamentary element to pass through said opening and a retaining configuration for retaining a filamentary element in the channel.
According to other characteristics of this support:
the longitudinal openings of successive channels open out alternately into opposite faces of the support, the webs of the channels alternating with the longitudinal walls of said channels so as to define a cross-section for the support that zigzags back and forth;
each longitudinal channel is of substantially triangular cross-section when its longitudinal opening is in the retaining configuration;
the longitudinal openings of the successive channels open out into the same face of the support;
each longitudinal wall has a free edge provided with a retaining bead for retaining filamentary elements in the channels;
the face of the support into which the longitudinal openings of the channels open out is provided with a removable cover for closing the channels; and
the support is made out of an extruded or calendared thermoplastic material.
The invention also provides an assembly of at least two supports, each as defined above, wherein each support has a longitudinal wall defining a side edge of the support that is provided with coupling means for co-operating with complementary coupling means carried by another support.
According to another characteristic of this assembly, the complementary coupling means of two supports co-operate with each other by snap-fastening.
The invention also provides a bundle of small-diameter filamentary elements of diameter less than or equal to 1 mm, wherein the filamentary elements are held together by a support as defined above.
According to another characteristic of this bundle, the filamentary elements are selected from optical fibers and electrical coaxial cables.